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It was good. To be honest I would recommend other similar price point hotels more highly such as Milaidhoo. The biggest drawback of Alila is that it tends to be very wavy and hard to swim, which is a problem for maldives in my opinion. I also found it harder to get around - they don’t do bikes because the villas are much higher up off the water (due to the waves).

@@clearedfortravel so Mailaidhoo is better than Alila? That's good to know. I may book a stay at Mailaidhoo

Yes in my opinion. It’s also a great value with Hilton points. At least when I booked my points rate included sea plane, breakfast, and dinner. So the bill was so much lower than any maldives resort I’ve visited. I think they have changed that though so may want to check what it includes now.

@@Avgeek-kaz Honestly by the end we felt like it’s comparable to Waldorf and much better than Conrad. The villa is similar to Waldorf, and the staff actually is more locals who know a lot about Maldives - weather, fish, cuisine. That really added to the experience. At Waldorf it lacks a bit of local character.

@@clearedfortravel This is great information. Thank you! Comparable to WA is such a compliment. wow.

No thanks :)

I see

@clearedfortravel ok sir, if you need, dont forget to contract with me

Right back at you from maldives!

Yes actually the park hyatt maldives hadahaa was originally built as an Alila and then converted to a Park Hyatt. This feels very similar to the Park Hyatt Hadahaa but much newer and nicer.

@@heikohaesler5198 Have you visited? What was your experience?

@@BrandonCarr-ol9xw Yes, it’s a pretty eccentric crowd. Lots of plastic surgery, designer bags, and blingy dinner orders topped with truffle/caviar.

@@BrandonCarr-ol9xw St regis is great but starting to show its age. Paint on the villas is chipping off.

one thing to consider is the villa with pool is also much larger on the inside. the base bungalow is very small and the tub/sink are inside the room next to the bed. so the villa with pool feels like a big upgrade all around.

@clearedfortravel that is true, I did notice that. It sucks that there aren't bigger rooms without the pool option. But thank you for your reply.

Emirates first is better than Qatar first but Qatar business is way better than emirates business. I also prefer Doha airport and lounges.

@@damien0023 lol maybe! I haven’t checked

@@BrandonCarr-ol9xw The conrad has no view. This is much better.

thank you! do you think you’ll make a trip to westin now? :)

@@randyschartner Thank you!

@@clearedfortravel would you consider joining Plannin?

@@randyschartner no

I believe it was about 30k rt when they first introduced it on the first plane and when I made this video. Haven’t kept track of pricing since.

Yes, wow.

Yes even better in real life

I was just there, and I stayed in two water villas and neither looked like this in the bathroom. This looks refurbed. Interesting.

@@TechInTheCaryes they tested out renovating this one villa and decided not to do it on the rest.

@ Yes this one is refurbed. Most are not as they didn’t go through with a complete hotel refurb.

@@user-xr7dk6fp4g It depends on the package you book. I booked an inclusive package called Discover Serengeti which included safari drives. I highly recommend it. And yes i think horizon means second floor and savannah means first floor. The second floor is a little bit nicer but not much.

@@clearedfortravel thank you for answering! How did the all inclusive meals and drinks work? Was there a specific time you get your meals? A specific dining area? Can you take your food up to your room if you please?

@@user-xr7dk6fp4gyes there are three included restaurants and they do have opening hours. I don’t think room service was included but it had a surcharge

@@clearedfortravel thank you! My last question, I promise! But how did you get your luggage to the hotel? From what I’ve read you can’t take luggage on the small shuttle planes . I was thinking of taking a travel backpack but it makes me nervous as I’m used to traveling with at least one large luggage.

@@user-xr7dk6fp4g you’ll need to book flights separately through an airline like precision air. So check their baggage policy. They absolutely allow bags including large checked bags - they just go under the plane as there is no space for larger carryons in the small cabin

I hope you can visit it someday.

My absolute favorite villa is number 6. So probably don’t book that one because I don’t want the competition!

@@clearedfortravel 1 is also similar to 6. They are both called legacy villas.

@@FlyandStay-524 yes, the a350-1000

@@lizhall7143 of course! And in this video, I’m referring to Marriott Bonvoy platinum status. It’s not super hard to earn if you don’t have it - for example, one of the amex marriott credit cards gives platinum status just for having the credit card.

@@ericmatteson8888 hahaha ok good to know

@@clearedfortravel Not trying to mean or snotty. I had to think for a while about what it reminded me of. Check out the Michael Myers theme from Halloween (also here on TH-cam)

@@DavidVillanueva-m7e Honestly it is such a unique gem. One of my favorites - hidden right in the middle of an iconic beach.

Not really. At least when I visited in June. I’ve heard it’s better other times of year when there’s less sea grass.

@@liyaah85 Yes, basically all major animals nearby except Rhino. Overall the safari was great. Next time I’d consider booking through a tour where I could spend a bit more time in different areas across serengeti to see different animals without having to do big drives each day. The disadvantage of using four seasons as home base the whole time was that it required some longer round trip drives to reach areas with lots of cheetahs, the great migration, and rhinos.

@@ChristopherWalkenActor Yeah… one trick is you can buy enough hilton points for a lot less when they’re on sale, if you see availability of standard rooms. That can bring the cost down closer to $500/nt.

@@VlumVon hey thanks so much! That’s great feedback, I won’t use that one in the future.

Very nice and new. But no ocean views.

For what it’s worth Platte is wide open on points currently. You just have to make sure you’re searching for 2 nights minimum to see the availability. I think they’re changing their tune on points and trying to boost occupancy more.

Yes there are many palm spiders around the island and you may run into their webs along the paths between villas. They are about the size of a human hand - very large.

Ok

Actually that is the price they were charging at the time of the inaugural flight which is when I booked my video. Prices have dropped a bit since that time.

Yeah it’s extremely pricey. Personally, i thought the product and service was just as good as Emirates. And so convenient to have a direct flight if you’re heading to Japan.

It’s a subjective opinion but several top blogs like One Mile At a Time say this is tied with Emirates for 1. Singapore is great though

Yes it’s now on the DFW route as well as JFK. Enjoy!

@@clearedfortravel Thanks waiting for the Chicago to Tokyo route to open up

It’s bookable on their website.

@@clearedfortravel I don't see any Penthouses on their website.

@@RGC217 oh this suite was on the penthouse floor but the suite is called something different. You should be able to find it when you look at the photos.

@@clearedfortravel oh ok. I’ll take a close look. Thanks a lot!!

@@clearedfortravel Parlor Suite

Ya they are really cool. Thanks!

I hear ya!

Ya the cabin was kind of dusty. But also looked worse at that moment because of the angle of the sun.

Well good thing is probably no one sat in that seat for a really long time. So no need to sanitize just wipe down. Wish they still should dust once in a while. Love your videos.

@@lanaigirl Hey thanks so much! That means a lot.